GLENDALE, Ariz. — For months, parents at Coyote Ridge Elementary have been coming to terms with a harsh reality - the school is closing at the end of the year.
"Yeah, I think it's really sad because our kids grew up here. This is our culture. This is our home ground," Diana Fulton, a parent at Coyote Ridge.
Coyote Ridge will be re-purposed as a community services hub for the school district's families, offering a one-stop location for medical care, counseling services, academic support, and donated food.
It's all part of a multi-year plan by the Glendale School District that closed two elementary schools last year and will close or repurpose three more schools at the end of this year.
The closures reflect challenges that many school districts face experiencing declining enrollment.
"Toughest job I've had to do"
Last year, the district closed Isaac E. Imes Elementary School and Melvin E. Sine Elementary School as part of the plan's first phase passed by the school board.
"As a superintendent, to close five schools at a board meeting (last year) was the toughest job I've had to do," said Glendale Elementary School District Superintendent Cindy Segotta-Jones.
The closures are part of a multi-year plan to keep the district financially solvent, Segotta-Jones said. Last year's vote by the school board resulted from years of discussions and forums with parents, the school board, and community leaders.
Repurposing two of the schools
The three schools that will close this year are Coyote Ridge Elementary School near 75th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, Desert Garden Elementary School near 71st Avenue and Ocotillo Road and Bicentennial North Elementary School near 72nd and Missouri avenues.
The district chose Coyote Ridge to be a services hub because of its convenient road access to public transportation services.
"Our whole goal is to have a partnership with our community to bring in these services so that when a parent comes to us, they don't need to go to five different places to get the help they need," Segotta-Jones said.
Desert Garden Elementary School will be repurposed for a preschool, and Bicentennial North will be empty next year.
The buildings at Isaac E. Imes Elementary School and Melvin E. Sine Elementary School had outlived their lifespan and may be designated as historical buildings if public funds become available, districts officials said.
School districts face declining enrollment
Glendale leaders attribute declining enrollment numbers to three common forces across the Valley: lower birth rates since the Great Recession, affordable housing challenges, and competition from charter schools.
"It's a reality that we can't avoid," said Assistant Superintendent Mike Barragan of the Glendale Elementary School District.
According to state data, despite a bounce in enrollment at public schools statewide this year compared to the prior year, overall registration is still 1.6% below pre-pandemic numbers. Broader trends show many school districts have experienced declining enrollment for more than a decade.
"We need to be financially solvent. And the only way to do that is to make difficult decisions, and while they may be unpopular, they are necessary for the long-term sustainability of the community and of the district," Barragan said.
How other districts are responding
In 2018, the Sedona-Oak Creek Unified School District closed an elementary school.
In 2019, the Phoenix Elementary School District considered closing three schools before backing off the plan. Enrollment numbers continue to fall in that district. However, the district has no plans to consolidate any schools, said Linda Jeffries, Director of Marketing Communications.
At Scottsdale Unified School District, the board approved a restructure in January, transforming Tonalea Elementary School from a K-8 to a standalone middle school next year.
"We are doing some demographic studies, and we are working to better understand the changing demographics of our population as it relates to school-age children that we would serve," said Kristine Harrington, Communications and Marketing Director for Scottsdale Unified School District.
The state's largest school district, Mesa Public Schools, has no plans to consolidate facilities.
"Throughout our master planning process that has always been a discussion, but no decision has been made at all," said Heidi Hurst, Director of Communications and Engagement for Mesa Public Schools. "If and when we get to the point that would be a reality, we would bring in the public."
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